Fall 2020 at Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism 108 NW 83rd Street Seattle, WA 98117 Online Edition Tel: 206.789.2573 Website: www.sakya.org Email: [email protected] In this quarter’s catalog: Teachings from the Sakya Khondung Lamas H.E. Avikrita Rinpoche, H.E. Abhaya Rinpoche and H.E. Asanga Rinpoche Class: The Importance of the View of Non-Duality with Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche Refuge ceremony Virtual Practice: Green Tara, Guru Puja, Tsok Kor and Calm Abiding meditation Livestream Chenrezi practice Thursdays and Sundays Virtual Monday classes The Marici Fellowship: Allyship Program Special class: Cultural Bias, Racism, and Otherism with guest lecturer Reverend Seiho Morris Book Club Monthly Meal Service Green Tara virtual practice October 1 & November 30 P-patch garden What Sakya Monastery Offers From the foundation laid by His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya Dorje Chang (1929 - 2016), it is the aspiration of our Head Lama, His Eminence Avikrita Vajra Rinpoche, that Sakya Monastery continues to provide multiple pathways for all who are interested in studying and practicing the Buddhadharma. Due to the current health guidelines concerning the Covid-19 virus we have temporarily moved many of our activities to a virtual format. Via livestreaming and Zoom, we are offering live pujas, introductory and meditation classes, and special lectures and online community activities. This includes: Weekly Calm Abiding meditation via Zoom Livestreamed Chenrezi Practice on Sundays and Thursdays Monthly pujas via Zoom Monday evening classes via Zoom Biographies of the Sakya Khöndungs, lamas and teachers can be found on pages 17-21. Sakya Monastery’s Marici Fellowship is continuing many of its activities while maintaining recommended safety guidelines. Read about ongoing community outreach activities on The Marici Fellowship page of this catalog. https://marici-fellowship.org. And of course, as always, we have many video and audio teachings and other valuable resources on our website. You might find lockdown to be a good time to explore these resources more in depth. You can learn more about them on the Internet Teachings page of this catalog. Although all of these classes and pujas are freely offered, your donations are greatly appreciated and help in the care of Sakya Monastery, its teachers, and the continued offerings of the precious Dharma. Anyone who wishes to make a donation may do so at https://www.sakya.org/donate or by check at: Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism 108 NW 83rd Street Seattle, WA 98117 Though the Monastery plans to remain closed to the public at least through the end of the year, continue to check back often as we build our online offerings! Yours in the Dharma, Teresa Lamb VEI Coordinator 2 Special Teachings from the Holy Sakya Khöndungs During these difficult times, we are offering special teachings, as their schedules permit, from His Eminence Avikrita Vajra Rinpoche, His Eminence Abhaya Vajra Rinpoche, and His Eminence Asanga Vajra Rinpoche. Members can watch these talks together at 7pm on select Thursday evenings (Seattle local time). Recordings are online for everyone to enjoy shortly after. Teachings are scheduled on an ongoing basis. If you’re a current Monastery member, keep an eye out for email announcements at the beginning of the week. Recordings can all be found on the Monastery’s YouTube page! Links to teachings we have offered so far are listed below. Aspiration for Success Being Present with Pain and Loss H.E. Avikrita Rinpoche H.E. Avikrita Rinpoche https://youtu.be/vvzIugIjVnQ https://youtu.be/buTyjyXdgJc Elucidating The Tenet Systems of The Essence of the Mahayana, Buddhist Philosophy part 1 H.E. Abhaya Rinpoche H.E. Avikrita Rinpoche https://youtu.be/GEnvAyp8nqs https://youtu.be/p1AnBiNyuTg Parting from the Four Attachments: Mind Training, part 1 H.E. Asanga Rinpoche https://youtu.be/PlOScgEo_ug These videos and more can all be found at the Sakya Monastery YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/SakyaMonastery 3 Understanding Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezi) Teaching by H.E. Asanga Rinpoche Sunday, September 27 Time: 9:30am Teaching will be streamed before Chenrezi practice www.sakya.org/live-streaming- video Through the meditation on Chenrezi (Avalokiteshvara), one develops loving kindness, compassion, and bodhicitta. Buddha taught that “love” is the wish for all beings to experience happiness, that “compassion” is the aspiration that they be free from all suffering, and that “bodhicitta” is the mind dedicated to attaining enlightenment for the benefit for all beings. 4 The Importance of the View of Non-Duality Teaching by Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche Sunday, October 11 Time: 1:00pm Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/98937764355 Meeting ID: 989 3776 4355 There is no class fee, but donations are accepted So much suffering in life can be traced back to thinking about things in only black and white terms - good versus evil, long versus short, male versus female, us versus them. Buddhism emphasizes how thinking dualistically is the root cause of our suffering. How do we break free from the traps of rigid thinking and see the lighter side of life? Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche will give practical teachings on how to remove ourselves from the clutches of dualistic thinking, and in doing so find the path to a more peaceful and harmonious way of living. 5 Virtual Practices We are broadcasting some of our regular practices via livestreaming and Zoom meetings so that you can still participate from home. When using Zoom, there are a few things to keep in mind: Keep your mic muted unless you are speaking to the group Use the chat feature to have side conversations or to ask a question Remember the Buddha's teaching on Right Speech and be caring and respectful during the chat All times listed are in Seattle local time, which is Pacific Time. Please make sure to check against your local time zone. (Keep in mind that daylight saving ends November 1st.) Sunday Chenrezi Sundays, 10:00am Livestream: https://www.sakya.org/live-streaming- video Texts: https://www.sakya.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/05/Sunday-Chenrezi-Service.pdf Sunday Chenrezi meditation is being livestreamed every week for all who wish to participate remotely. English chanting led by H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Dorje Chang’s son, H.E. Sadu Vajra Sakya Rinpoche. Tibetan chanting led by Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche and Sakya Monastery lamas. Texts to accompany the practice can be found at the livestream link above. Thursday Chenrezi Thursdays, 7:30pm October 28, 22, 29 November 5, 12, 19, 26 Livestream: https://www.sakya.org/live-streaming-video Thursday Chenrezi meditation is being livestreamed for all who wish to participate remotely. English chanting led by H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Dorje Chang’s son, H.E. Zaya Vajra Sakya Rinpoche. Tibetan chanting led by Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche and Sakya Monastery lamas. Texts to accompany the practice can be found at the livestream link above. (Chenrezi may be canceled in the event of other pujas. Please check the calendar for the complete schedule. https://www.sakya.org/calendar) 6 Virtual Practices Calm Abiding Fridays, 7:00pm Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96561045202 Meeting ID: 965 6104 5202 (Calm Abiding may be canceled in the event of other pujas. Please check the calendar for the complete schedule. https://www.sakya.org/ calendar) Within Tibetan Buddhism, there are various mindfulness techniques and practices to help us understand our minds, achieve happiness, and attain enlightenment. An excellent meditation practice for beginners is Calm Abiding Meditation. There are many techniques for practicing Calm Abiding Meditation. One of the main techniques is to sit quietly, be aware of one's mind, and observe the flow of arising and passing thoughts. Through your practice, you can increase your awareness of your body, your thoughts, and your inner emotions. Increase your mindfulness and further your understanding of the nature of happiness and suffering. Calm Abiding is being held every week over Zoom. Anyone, new or experienced, is invited to join. Important Tip! As so much communication moves online during this time, it’s important to remember to regularly check your email spam folder for important information you may be missing. The Monastery sends many event announcements via email and we wouldn’t want you to miss out! Check your spam folder every few days, and if you see messages that were incorrectly flagged, make sure to mark them as not spam and move them back to your inbox. This will help your email provider learn what you do and don’t want to receive, so that in the future you’ll be sure not to miss important things. We do our best not to email you too often, but if you feel like you are getting too many emails, you can always unsubscribe via the link at the bottom of the email, or by replying to let us know. 7 Virtual Practices Beginning in October, in addition to the weekly practices listed on the preceding pages, Sakya Monastery will be offering more pujas online! October’s schedule is below. Dates may be subject to changes; please consult the online calendar for the latest schedule: https://www.sakya.org/calendar/ October 1 Green Tara 7:30PM https://zoom.us/j/97227322975 October 6 Medicine Buddha 7:30PM https://zoom.us/j/92306690413 October 9 Guru Puja 7:30PM https://zoom.us/j/93697527978 October 26 Tsok Kor 7:30PM https://zoom.us/j/99826599206 (In lieu of tangible offerings, monetary donations are accepted at www.sakya.org/donate) October 30 Sachen Kunga Nyingpo Memorial 7:30PM https://zoom.us/j/99470558288 November 7 Buddha’s Descent from Heaven 7:30PM November 10 Medicine Buddha 7:30PM November 24 Tsok Kor 7:30PM (In lieu of tangible offerings, monetary donations are accepted at www.sakya.org/donate) November 30 Green Tara 7:30PM 8 Virtual Mondays at the Monastery Select classes are moving to Zoom on Monday nights! Some classes are from our previous Sunday morning series, and others are special topics.